2015 Biecher & Schaal Grand Cru Rosacker Riesling, Alsace

Labeled as 13.5% abv. Very old vines. This was a medium gold color with some fizz when first poured (spritzing.) It had more petrol scent than a previous vintage. The petrol on the nose persisted, fading slightly the third day opened. I didn't like it as well as the 2014 vintage due to the petrol element. I have a number of bottles so will wait awhile before opening another and will hope that the petrol integrates in time. (Posted on CellarTracker))

[David M. Bueker]

I know Rosacker. I do not know that producer.

Big producer that makes lots of uninteresting wines from good sites. The vines are not that old, either. Terrible canopy management leads to too much petrol scent in good years. Not a fan. But, hey, it is a grand cru, and it is cheap.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L

Not a producer I know either.
My experience is that petrol aromas (which I'm fine with in moderation) tend to deepen, not lessen, with age.

The 2014 Rosacker from this producer was one of my favorite dry Rieslings in several years! Maybe the vintage difference accounts for the petrol in the 2015 version as Fredrik explains. I have some from other grand cru sites also so hope for better results but thanks for the insights. The website says that the Rosacker Vineyard is forty years old. I thought I had seen somewhere that the vines were seventy years old, but apparently that is not correct.

I see from my CellarTracker notes that I did open one 2015 Biecher and Schaal Sommerberg last year. It also showed some petrol on the nose and taste but not as much as the Rosacker from 2015. I liked it. It has a 90.4 rating on CellarTracker and my rating was 90. I have two more of the Sommerberg and two Kastelberg from the vintage plus a number of the Rosacker which I did not like as well in the 2015 vintage.